TRUMP-LAWMAKERS 2 LAST

"In 14 short days, we have learned that President-elect"In 14 short days, we have learned that President-elect Trumps business partners from India paid a courtesy call at Trump Tower between meetings when Trump was interviewing candidates for the cabinet. Trump executives are pressuring fo

"In 14 short days, we have learned that President-elect

"In 14 short days, we have learned that President-elect Trumps business partners from India paid a courtesy call at Trump Tower between meetings when Trump was interviewing candidates for the cabinet. Trump executives are pressuring foreign diplomats to stay at Trump Hotels, which after Inauguration may represent a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution," Engel said.

"But the likelihood that President-elect Trumps will protect his business holdings in countries as important as China, India, and Saudi Arabia creates a clash between his personal finances and our national security.This is unacceptable," he said.

"President-elect Trumps questionable ethical principles may influence who he appoints to lead our federal agencies and, ultimately, influence the culture within these federal agencies. As a result, the work that you perform will become especially integral to upholding the ethical standards of the Executive branch," the letter said.

The Members asked the Inspectors General to take immediate and proactive steps to ensure political appointees at the agencies they oversee are held to the highest ethical standards "and mitigate conflicts of interest when they inevitably arise".

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have introduced Presidential Accountability Act of 2016, which would extend current federal conflict of interest laws to the President and Vice President of the United States.

Federal conflict of interest law prohibits executive branch office holders from engaging in government business in which they stand to gain profit.

To avoid these conflicts and eliminate criminal liability, office holders are allowed to place their assets in a qualified blind trust. However, the President and Vice President are currently exempt from this law.

Federal conflict of interest law prohibits executive branch office holders from engaging in government business in which they stand to gain profit.

To avoid these conflicts and eliminate criminal liability, office holders are allowed to place their assets in a qualified blind trust.

However, the President and Vice President are currently exempt from this law.

W Bush, Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barack Obama have all used some form of blind trust or placed their assets in an investment vehicle over which they had no control, said Congressman Jerrold Nadler, senior member of the House Judiciary Committee. PTI LKJ UZM

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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